June 8 (Bloomberg) -- Napa Valley Vintners’ record $16.9
million auction last weekend didn’t surprise anyone who knew
that the Staglin family was chairing the annual fundraiser.

Shari and Garen Staglin, esteemed for their philanthropy
and for producing premium cabernet sauvignons and chardonnays,
have raised more than $800 million over two decades for medical
research, education, the arts and social services, according to
their records.

No cause is dearer or more urgent than curing mental
illness. Their son, Brandon, has schizophrenia

Surging stocks and property holdings of 1,000 attendees,
most paying $2,500 for weekend activities that climaxed inside a
big white tent on June 1 at the Meadowood Napa Valley resort in
St. Helena, California, helped buoy spirits.

“We had a hope and a plan that was based on achieving
‘Lucky 13’ in 2013,” Garen Staglin said in a phone interview
after the sale. “Our expectations were substantially exceeded
in every way. There was a great outpouring of generosity.”

The biggest boost for fundraising may have come from the
Staglins’ organizational know-how and talent for persuading
people to open their wallets, said Paul Leary, president of
Napa-based Blackbird Vineyards.

“The mood is very strong, and you’re seeing great momentum
and lots of optimism because the Staglin family have done an
amazing job getting bidders in the room,” Leary said during an
auction break.

The couple tapped their extensive global network, hosting
dinners in Shanghai, New York and Naples, Florida, where they
made appeals for donations or attendance at the Napa event.

New Record

The total raised this year crushed the previous $10.5
million fundraising record set in 2005. “We’re north of $16
million,” Garen Staglin announced at a post-auction supper on
Saturday beneath towering oaks and firs, to gasps from guests
feasting on fried chicken, pork ribs and beet salad.

The couple had been asked to chair the auction on several
previous occasions, and didn’t accept until daughter Shannon was
able to rejoin the family business, where she now serves as
president of the Rutherford vineyard in the heart of Napa, Garen
said in a telephone interview before the event.

Shari is chief executive officer, and Garen, who got an MBA
from Stanford in the same class as billionaire Sid Bass and real
estate investor Richard Rainwater, heads up public relations.
Brandon handles marketing communications.

Obama’s Support

This week, President Barack Obama called for ending the
stigma attached to mental health problems including Alzheimer’s,
post-traumatic stress and bipolar disorder.

“There should be no shame in discussing or seeking help
for treatable illnesses that affect too many people that we
love,” Obama said on June 3 at the opening of a White House
conference organized in the wake of December shootings at
Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School. “We’ve got to get
rid of that embarrassment.”

The Staglins have had conversations on mental health issues
with Obama as well as former President Bill Clinton. In April
2010, Garen took a call from the White House in which Obama
“thanked Shari and me for the work we’ve done, and I thanked
him for his leadership,” Staglin said.

The family’s commitment and showmanship will be on display
at the 19th Music Festival for Mental Health, taking place
September 7-8, in tandem with a brain research symposium at
their Rutherford winery.

Admission to the symposium is free, with tickets to the
music festival priced at $750. A second day of music, costing
$500, will feature country star Tim McGraw, whose father Tug, a
former Major League Baseball pitcher, died in 2004 of a brain
tumor. Proceeds go to the Staglin’s International Mental Health
Research Organization.

“He’s donating his performance,” Garen said of McGraw.
“He doesn’t have to do that, but he will for this effort.”

(Dan Levy is a reporter for Bloomberg News. The opinions
expressed are his own.)

Muse highlights include Jason Harper on cars and Philip
Boroff on theater.